Speeches

Today, I gave blood. And I'm sure instead of encouraging others to donate, I probably scare them away with how I look.

But it's something I can give. And I give enthusiastically, because God blessed me greatly.

The Bible states, "When you give, give generously." But that's something I actually first learned from my family and from you.

Look at this church we're in. Look at all what generations of Our Lady of the Assumption parishioners before me worked hard to provide us. I think off all the Catechists who prepared me for my sacraments, people who organized the kermes, the volunteers who read during Mass, sing in the choir, help gather raffle prizes.

I am proud to see such generosity and love here. I hope you see it too. And not just you, I want future generations to see that and share in it. And one way we're going to do that is giving them a new parish hall and CCE building. It'll be our gift to future generations.

And to make that a reality, we need to continue with our fundraising. After Mass, you'll find fellow parishioners handing out raffle booklets for the MegaRaffle. All the money raised will be going to the building fund.

Please help us raise the money needed by taking booklets to sell. We could actually also use your help handing out booklets. You can also raise money for the building fund by buying pulled-pork plates.

Let's continue to show our community that we know what it means to live and share in Christ's love.

No needles required.

Good evening brothers and sisters.

I usually sit in that pew over there. Do you all have a regular pew? And for a lot of years, sitting there was the limit of my church participation. I sat in a pew during Mass. I was a bench warmer.

Don't misunderstand me. Mass participation is vital. But the Lord gives me everything I have. And I was giving him the same amount of time as a TV show drama.

Usually, coaches bench the athletes. In this case, I was the one keeping myself at that level.

There were so many opportunities to help each other grow in our faith, to live and share in Christ's love. And I, literally, just sat there.

I got tired of just sitting there. I want to learn and grow and help others have that chance. And now we have one of the biggest opportunities to do that in decades.

We're raising funds for the new building for the parish hall and CCE classrooms. And to do that, we need everyone's help. That includes people headed to the Faith Hall of Fame, like the Guadalupanas, and minor leaguers like me.

There are volunteers outside the church who are handing out raffle ticket booklets. Please pick up one or two or three. All the funds will go to the new building.

You can also help by buying a ticket for the pulled pork plates.

And a definite way to leave your mark on the new building is to buy a brick paver, which will be placed in front of the building with whatever message you choose.

Last year, the Mega-Raffle and plate sale raised $39,000. Now, are you ready to work together to break a sales record?

You know where to find me in that pew over there.

Congratulations on the work you accomplished to complete your sacraments. To the teachers, family, and friends here, thank you for supporting the students on their faith journey.

But you’re also here today because generations of parishioners before us set the foundation.

The building students were taught in, the chairs they sat it, the parish hall where you attended meetings and celebrations, this church we’re in now…. None of these just appeared.

We have them because of the hard work, dedication, and love from parishioners in the past. The raffles, tamales, chalupa, and fundraisers…. they were held to build our parish community, to let us live and share in Christ’s love. And here we are… almost 60 years later.

Some of those early parishioners are gone. I think it’d would bring them great joy to see the work they did continues in you.

And now it’s our turn. We want to ensure generations after us are able to have a home to complete their sacraments and share Christ’s love.

As students and parents, I’m sure you know the parish hall and CCE building are badly in need of repair. We are planning to build a new community center, which would house the parish hall and CCE classes.

In order to raise the money needed, we’re selling paver bricks that will be placed at the site of the new building. Please consider buying one. You can customize the message on the brick. Not only will it help future generations, but it’ll also be a way to commemorate the sacraments that are about to be completed.

Students, please pray that’ll we’ll soon have a better building to help you continue in your faith formation. Thank you.

A few months ago, we announced the plans for the new community center, which will cost more than $4 million. The building will replace the current parish hall and CCE classrooms. It’ll also continue our mission of living and sharing in Christ’s love.

We wanted to start strong with our fundraising efforts and had a goal of reaching $1 million by the end of May. Brothers and sisters, we did just that.

We raised more than $1 million for the new community center. Thanks to Fr. Horacio’s saving efforts, the kermes, paver sales, your donations, fish frys, the benefit concert and all our efforts so far, we met that milestone. It’s a reminder that all things are possible through Christ.

We still have a ways to go. But I’m confident - together- we’ll raise all the money needed. As a celebration of reaching this milestone, we’ll be handing out cupcakes outside the church after Mass. Thank you everyone.

Our Lady of the Assumption, pray for us. San Felipe Neri, pray for us.